Jeremiah 9:11-16

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 9:1-11

The prophet, being commissioned both to foretel the destruction coming upon Judah and Jerusalem and to point out the sin for which that destruction was brought upon them, here, as elsewhere, speaks of both very feelingly: what he said of both came from the heart, and therefore one would have thought it would reach to the heart. I. He abandons himself to sorrow in consideration of the calamitous condition of his people, which he sadly laments, a one that preferred Jerusalem before his chief joy... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 9:12-22

Two things the prophet designs, in these verses, with reference to the approaching destruction of Judah and Jerusalem:?1. To convince people of the justice of God in it, that they had by sin brought it upon themselves and that therefore they had no reason to quarrel with God, who did them no wrong at all, but a great deal of reason to fall out with their sins, which did them all this mischief. 2. To affect people with the greatness of the desolation that was coming, and the miserable effects... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 9:11

And I will make Jerusalem heaps ,.... That is, the walls and houses of it shall be thrown down, and become heaps of stones and rubbish: and a den of dragons ; only inhabited by wild beasts: and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without inhabitant ; so that the calamity would be universal; not only Jerusalem, but all the cities of the land, would be destroyed, forsaken, and uninhabited. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 9:12

Who is the wise man that may understand this ?.... Not the calamity, but the cause of it; a man of wisdom would inquire into it, find it out, and understand it; but the intimation is, that there was not a wise man among them, at least very few; there were scarce any that took any notice of these things, or were concerned about them: and who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken ; and foretold this desolation and destruction; meaning a prophet: that he may declare it ; as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 9:13

And the Lord saith ,.... The Septuagint version adds, "to me"; there being no wise and understanding man, nor prophet F2 Vid. T. Nedarim, fol. 81. 1. & Bava Metzia fol. 85. 1, 2. , to take up this affair, and open the cause of it, therefore the Lord undertakes it himself: the question was put to them, but they not answering it, the Lord does it, because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them ; in a plain and easy manner, so as to be readily understood; yet this they... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 9:14

But have walked after the imagination of their own heart ,.... What their own hearts devised, chose, and were best pleased with; See Gill on Jeremiah 7:24 , and after Baalim ; the idols of the Gentiles; these they served and worshipped, and not the true God: which their fathers taught them ; which was so far from excusing them, that it was an aggravation of their sin, that they had continued in their wicked ways and idolatrous practices, from age to age, from one generation to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 9:15

Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel ,.... He calls himself "the Lord God of hosts", of armies above and below, in heaven and in earth, in opposition to Baalim, the idols of the Gentiles; which word signifies "lords"; which, though there be many who are called so, there is but one God, and one Lord, who is God over all, and "the God of Israel"; who had chosen them, and distinguished them by the blessings of his goodness; and yet they had forsaken him, and followed... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 9:16

I will scatter them also among the Heathen ,.... Besides the bitter judgments of famine and pestilence during the siege, what remained of them should be carried captive out of their own land into foreign countries, than which nothing could be more distressing: whom neither they or their fathers have known ; a circumstance greatly aggravating their captivity: and I will send a sword after them, till I have consumed them ; or men that kill with the sword, as the Targum: it chiefly... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 9:11

A den of dragons - תנים tannim is supposed to mean here jackals; the chakal is a beast frequent in the east, an attendant on the lion, the refuse of whose prey he devours. It is an animal that seems to have been bred originally between the wolf and the dog. The original is sometimes interpreted, dragons, whales, etc. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 9:12

Who is the wise man - To whom has God revealed these things? He is the truly wise man. But it is to his prophet alone that God has revealed these things, and the speedy fulfillment of the predictions will show that the prophet has not spoken of himself. read more

Group of Brands